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stiff, grimy dress she had worn for over twenty-four hours.
    Anja’s stomach growled, but she had already eaten the small meal Werner had left and there was nothing more in the room. No matter, she decided. Werner would come to get her soon, and once she was free, she would eat when she returned home.
    She was still trying to understand exactly what was going on between her and Tillz when she heard the lock of the cottage door click open. Werner stepped inside, Roulf, as always, trailing behind him.
    Werner’s gaze scanned the room, saw her standing by the bed, and he broke into a grin that made Anja’s skin form goose bumps.
    “You’ve made it through the night,” Werner said, and Anja wondered what precisely he thought would have happened to her. He walked over to the table and peered at the jars. “Excellent,” he said. “Where is my gold?”
    Anja gestured to the table. Werner’s eyes nearly bulged from his head when he saw the chunks of gold.
    “I can’t believe it!” he cried. “You’ve actually done it. I wasn’t sure … but now…” Werner looked at Anja, his expression incredulous.
    “I have done what you’ve asked of me,” Anja said, carefully keeping her voice smooth and even, though it made her skin crawl to be anywhere near Werner. “And now I expect you to keep your promise and let me go.”
    Werner looked from the gold to Anja to Roulf and back to the gold. “Your father’s debts are many,” he said slowly as he scooped up the nuggets and pocketed them. “I am not certain that what you have made here with cover them.”
    “But I’ve given you the gold. There is certainly enough there to cover the rents and—”
    Werner interrupted her. “Your father has many debts to me. I do not think this one night’s work will be sufficient.” He turned to Anja, his face hard. “I think you will need to be here … two more nights, at least.”
    Behind Werner, Roulf chuckled and rubbed his hands together, and Anja knew he was trying to calculate how much gold she could produce in two nights. Poor Roulf , Anja thought, he actually thinks Werner will give him a share of the gold .
    “I cannot … I will not stay here for two more nights. I’ve given you what you asked, what my father owes you. You must let me go!”
    Anger flashed in Werner’s eyes. He crossed the room to where she stood and grabbed her roughly by the arm. “Do not tell me what I must do! I have you locked in the cottage. I will be telling you what you must do.”
    Anja’s chin jutted in defiance. Although she was terrified, she would never give Werner the satisfaction of knowing it. “I will not stay here,” she said evenly.
    Werner squeezed her arm harder and shook her. “You will,” he said through clenched teeth. “I expect more gold—at least as much as what you made last night. I will come for it tomorrow morning and the next. I will have more iron and copper brought to you.” He gave her one final shake, then threw her to the bed. He stalked out of the cottage, Roulf following behind him. He slammed the door before the lock clicked into place.
    She stood, rubbing her arm where Werner had grabbed her. No doubt a wicked bruise was already forming. She was angry, afraid, and worried. She hated Werner for taking her and locking her in the cottage, she was angry with her father for getting her into her current predicament, and she was afraid of what would happen to her come morning.
    With a sinking feeling, she realized Tillz expected Werner to free her that day. Tillz wouldn’t know that Werner demanded two more night’s worth of gold—he wouldn’t be sneaking into the cottage to deliver her salvation. Werner would come the next morning and Anja would have nothing to give him.
    Anja shuddered, wondering exactly what Werner would do then.
    * * * *
    Tillz ran a hand through his hair as he paced back and forth in his little hut, his heavy boots scuffing the wide wooden planks of the floor. He was restless,